[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[Congratulations! You are now Level 4.]

“Godfucking dammit!”

I was running for dear life. After coming across that spider hole, the eight-legged bastards swarmed out of it by the dozens. Four of them managed to pounce on my back and bite me with their venomous fangs, and one even bit me in my fucking ass!

The only silver lining was that the spiders were weak on their lonesome. I could pick them up with one hand, and a single slam against the crystal-studded tunnel walls was enough to kill them. I even considered trying to stand my ground and kill as many of them as possible.

But then I looked back, and what I saw made my balls shrink in fear. The tunnel behind me was completely dark now, the crystals' light completely blocked by the spiders' bodies as they crawled all over the walls and ceiling.

Nope, I wasn't fighting that shit.

The tunnel up ahead branched into two paths, and I had no idea which one to take. The choice was made for me though when a group of Bigfoots emerged from the left one. I thought they'd try to attack me like the other one did, but they just ignored me as they ran towards the right path. I soon learned why when I saw the swarm of spiders also chasing the Bigfoots.

“Shit, wait for me you hairy fuckers!”

I followed right behind the Bigfoots as we ran from the spiders. It turned out the hairy fuckers were a godsend because they seemed to know the layout of the tunnels. We passed by several intersections already, and every time, they chose their path without hesitation.

But instead of widening the gap between the spiders and our group, the distance only seemed to shrink as time went on. That's because the tunnels were completely riddled with holes in the walls, and spiders were swarming out of them as soon as we passed them by. We reached a point where spiders were falling on our heads right as we passed the damnable holes. One even pounced on my handsome face.

“Argh! Get off my face!” I gripped the spider in both hands and ripped it apart.

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

The short distraction caused me to slow down a bit, and the swarm went batshit crazy when the distance closed further. Up ahead, the Bigfoots also noticed what happened. They shared a knowing glance with each other.

I felt my stomach drop as I realized what they were thinking. “Oh, don't you fucking dare.”

The lead Bigfoot hooted, and their group suddenly started throwing the spiders that landed on their bodies in my direction. They intended to use me as a distraction just like I did with the first Bigfoot I fought! “You fuckers!”

Spider after spider was thrown at my face, and I had no choice but to slow down as I ripped them off. If I didn't slow down, I'd risk tripping over a rock because of the spiders blocking my vision.

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

[You have slain a Frost Spider. Experience gained.]

The swarm behind me drew closer, and the skittering of their feet was now deafening. I had to do something or else I'd become spider food.

As the Bigfoots threw another spider my way, I managed to catch it by its abdomen. Then an idea came to mind. Instead of killing the spider, I lobbed it back to the Bigfoot who threw it at me. The spider managed to cling to the Bigfoot's foot, and when it started biting, the large ape cried in pain and fell down.

“Hah! Karma, bitch!”

I hopped over the fallen Bigfoot, who roared furiously as I passed by. The roar quickly disappeared beneath the swarm.

The Bigfoots ahead of me roared in fury as they doubled their pace to throw spiders at me. I was overwhelmed for a bit and had to kill the spiders as they crawled over my body, biting. But then I realized, did I really have to kill them? Their bites stung, but the worst their venom could do to me was make my skin itch.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I decided to let the spiders bite my body to their heart's content and focused on throwing the spiders back at the Bigfoots. It turned out to be the correct decision as soon enough, four more of their number had fallen and became spider food. Only two Bigfoots remained ahead of me, and they decided to stop their tactic.

Over the next few minutes, the tunnel started turning darker as the crystals in the walls diminished. The time also came when the spiders finally started to give up the chase. When I was sure that the spiders were far behind me, I decided to stop and take a breather. The Bigfoots, on the other hand, sent me one last glare before they continued on.

At this point, I didn't really need them anymore to lead me out of the tunnels. The bare rock that used to be the floor of the tunnel was now coated in a thin layer of snow. That meant I was near the surface, and that also meant the Bigfoots left behind a set of footprints that should be easy to follow.

I sat down against the tunnel wall to recover. I was breathing heavily, but to my surprise, I wasn't as tired as I should normally be. I'd been all-out sprinting for what must've been twenty minutes straight, yet all I had to show for it was my quick breathing. Even that quickly slowed down as my fatigue dissipated at a rapid pace.

Then I remembered the description of my sole Trait.

[Traits]

Divine Body - Your body has been constructed by a god. Your body recovers faster and is resistant to ailments.

Damn, I think the words ‘recovers faster’ does not only pertain to my health but to my stamina as well. I suppose Skorm still had some decency to give me some advantages after all. He was still an asshole, though.

After just a few minutes of rest, I felt like I just had a good night's sleep. “This body is fucking awesome.”

I continued walking again, and this time, I opted to go slowly and carefully. The light in the tunnel was almost non-existent now, and I didn't want to accidentally wander into a spider hole.

I followed the Bigfoots' tracks with my eyes peeled for threats, and after a short while, I finally, finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. This time, I meant it literally and metaphorically.

I traveled the last stretch of the tunnel with extreme paranoia, because if fate was about to fuck with me, it was gonna do it right before my goal. Fortunately, it seemed to show me mercy this time.

I slowly emerged from the tunnel, my eyes squinted as my vision slowly adjusted to the bright daylight reflecting from the snow on the ground. Once the light wasn't so blinding anymore, I took stock of my surroundings.

The tunnel exit turned out to be located at a cliff that was very close to the mountain's base. I could even jump off the cliff right now and I'd be at the base after a few seconds of falling. But of course, I wasn't going to do that. Only idiots fell down mountains to expedite their journey.

Fortunately for me, there was a narrow path that led down to the base. The Bigfoots' footprints were present on the snow, but instead of leading down the mountain, they led to a fork in the path that led up.

I hoped that I never saw the furry apes again.

Eager to return to civilization, I hurried down the mountain path at a fast but careful pace. It only took me twenty minutes to finally reach the bottom of the mountain, and I didn't even have to catch my breath.

With the mountain now behind me, the next hurdle to overcome was the forest in front. On the other side of the woods was a city that I spotted from high up the mountain, and I couldn't wait to reach it.

First, though, I had to find something to eat.

As I entered the forest, the snowy environment slowly transitioned into a green lush ecosystem. The air here was still cold, but it was magnitudes warmer than the top of the mountain. For the first time since I was dropped in this world, my balls weren't freezing for once.

My eyes scanned the forest for any source of food, and I immediately spotted one. It was a big bush with lots of red berries growing all over it. With my luck, these berries were likely poisonous, but I didn't have to worry much about it thanks to my badass body.

I began picking berries like there was no tomorrow, popping the little things in my mouth as soon as I plucked them from the bush. It had a citrusy sweet flavor with a very faint bitterness that honestly messed with the taste, but compared to raw wolf meat, the berries were heaven.

A few minutes later, the bush was entirely bereft of berries, and my stomach was extremely full of them. I only realized later on that the bitter taste of the berries probably came from the seeds. In my hunger, I forgot that I shouldn't have been eating the seeds.

“Bah, everything should be fine.”

With a full stomach, I continued on my journey towards civilization. The day was still young, and I hoped to make large progress.

But as always, life had the tendency of fucking me over.

••••

An hour after entering the forest, I heard the sound of rushing water nearby. I looked down at myself and grimaced at my hideous state. My shirt looked more like dishrags draped over my torso, the same as my cargo pants. My heavy-duty boots fared better, but like the rest of my body, it was heavily stained by blood, guts, and other sorts of nasty gunk. I haven't checked yet, but I bet the blood and gore also reached inside my boots, judging by how I sometimes felt something squish when I walked.

The worst part about everything else, though, was my beard. Formerly majestic and well-maintained, all that remained was a scraggly mess that was crusty with blood and bits of guts. Compared to everything else that happened to me, my beard being dirtied was probably the most painful thing.

I changed course and made a beeline towards the sound of rushing water. I was in dire need of a good bath.

I soon reached the source, which turned out to be a river of average size. Not like I was an expert on river sizes. I suppose size doesn't matter, personality was more important.

I quickly stripped myself of my clothes and waded into the ice-cold river with a little ‘ooh’. Once I was waist-deep in the middle of the river, I grabbed a handful of gravel from the riverbed and started scrubbing all over my body.

I spent a solid twenty minutes scrubbing in the river just to clean away all the accumulated blood and dirt, and another ten minutes to just relax and feel the water current against my skin. It was a break I deserved after the hectic recent events.

Of course, not everybody agreed on that last thought.

I was woken from my relaxation by a huge splash nearby. When I turned to look, there was a goddamn bear swimming in my direction, its hungry eyes focused on my juicy ass.

“Can't a man have a break for once?!”